"People said to me, 'You are going to ruin the family business,' " Balbo recalled.

But Balbo persuaded his partners and bosses to stick with the Green Cane Project, as the conversion was called, through the 1995-97 transition years. By 2000, Sao Francisco's yields had surpassed the best harvests achieved using conventional methods.

Does it depend on what you count as a lawn? Mine is healthy and green and organic, but a lot of it is moss. I like moss, in fact I think it is more beautiful then grass, especially mown grass. But does it count as a lawn?